Draft-rigging.



e. HfFORSYTH.

DRAFT RIGGING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 15. m2.

Patented July 13, 1915.

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W II I l mqll e. H. JFORSYTHL Eaten -|1i July-113, 11915.

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" the longitudinal aXis of the car.

Yes

enonen n. ronsr'rn, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, assienoa, BY MESNE assrenlvmnrs, 'rowarren DRAFT GEAR COMPANY, A. CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

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To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. FORSYTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ghicago, inthe county of Cook and State cessive'strains to which these parts are subjected both in pulling and bufling. It is well known that in the operation ofrailroads to-day the tendency is toward decreasing operating cost. This results in the construction of-cars designed to carry heavier loads, the operation of longer trains, haste in switching, with increased speeds and buffing strains, and, in general, the subjection of the draft mechanism to such increased stresses that their failure, particularly at the point of connection between drawbar and yoke, is a common occurrence. Fur the'rmore, the intense strains of pulling and buffing are not always directly in line with Thus the components of side stress must be resolved into a force parallel to the longitudinal axis of the car and this must be accomplished by the drawbar and yoke. Stresses applied at an angle very frequently cause the shearing of the rivets connecting the drawbar and yoke. This is followed by the pulling-out of the drawbar, and, in the absence of other safety devices, the drawbar falls on the track with the consequent liability of accident.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide a novel yoke so constructed that themost violent stresses either parallel with or at an angle to. the axis of the car shall not affect the connection between drawbar and yoke.

A further object is to so construct the yoke that it may be applied to a drawbar by means of a center key, as is common, or by rivets, which is I also common, or by means of upper and lower keys cooperating Specification of Letters Patent.

in the yoke that the area of the upper and.

lower slots shall be substantially equal to the area of the center slot. The advantage secured is in this; that the rigging may be installed with a coupler having a center key slot, in which case two keys are used; however, while in service, the coupler may become disabled and require removal and replacement. If a coupler having a key slot is not available, a standard coupler, having an enlarged butt end whereby shoulders are formed, may be used, the two keys heretofore used in the one slot being inserted, one above and one below the drawbar, each contacting a shoulder. Assuming further that in service one key or both keys should be- Patented July 13, 11915. Application filed March 15, 1912. Serial No. 683,940.

It will be apparent from a study of the description and drawings that the most violent of the stresses-that is those applied in bufling-are not taken up b an of the fastening means but are applied irectly to a rigid wall forming a part of the yoke and thence to the followers This is an im portant advantage.

Other and more particular objects will appear hereinafter and be pointed out in the claims.

My invention will be more readily un derstood by reference to the accompanyingv ings it will be seen that I provide a drawbar 10, having an enlarged butt end 11, forming shoulders 12. In the drawbar is provided an elongated slot 13, as is common to many designs of draft riggings. My novel yoke is composed of top and bottom members 4 drawbar with registering Openings 29.

l4-15,'and end wall 16. The forward ends of the top and bottom members are united by a vertical wall 17. It is against this wall that the butt end 11 of the drawbar abuts when in service. This wall serves to take the butling stress and transmit it to the followers, thence to the sills of the car. In the present instance I have shown the followercontacting face of the wall as arc-shaped for cooperation with a special form of fol lower. However, it will be understood that this may be of any desired construction.

In the preferred construction, the forward end of the yoke is in the form of a hood having top and bottom walls, 18-19, which are in effect continuations of the top and bottom members 1l-15 of the yoke, and side walls '20, which project from the vertical wall l'Z. In the side walls I provide upper and lower slots 22, and an intermediate slot 523. It will be noted that the com bined area of the two smaller slots is substantially equal to the area of the larger slot. lVhen the drawbar is in place the slot 13 therein registers with the slot 93 in the yoke, and the slots ar: in a plane passing in front of the shoulders 12 of the drawbar. As shown in the drawings I may place four keys in the slots, two keys 24 being placed in the larger slot and two keys 25 being placed in the upper and lower slots.

However, in practice I may prefer tense only two keys, that 1s, placing the two n the'slot 23 or using one in each of the slots keys I cast with the side walls reinforcements 26.

It will be noted that the keys 2el-25 are of greater thickness than the depth of the shoulders 12 on the drawbar; also that the slots '22 through the side walls extend through a portion of the metal composing the top and bottom walls l819, at 27. '1 bus it will be seen that in such connection the shearing area is not merely the crosssectional area of the keys but is increased to include an area. equal to the width of the shank and a depth equal to the amount cut away from the walls 1S19. This is an important advantage.

In the different views Ihave shown the top and bottom walls 18-49 as provided with two openings 28, and the end of tpe in cases of emergency bolts orrivets may be inserted therein for connecting the parts as will be readily understood. In such case, as in the other combinations, the concussive force of butling will be applied to the vertical wall 17, only the pulling strain falling on the bolts.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modification in which the construction is identical except that the top'and bottom wall, referred to in the other views as 18-19 are eliminated. This may be done where it is desired to provide for the removal of the draft rigging without disturbing the coupler. To accomplish this result the keys are removed and the draft rigging-dropped down, the coupler remaining in place. After repairs the parts may be assembled in their former relation by raising the draft rigging and inserting the keys forming the connection to the drawbar.

I have shown no form of draft gear in place and it will be understood that any desired cushioning means may be employed. Furthermore, I have not indicated the keys as passing through the sills of a car; this may be found desirable in some instances.

While the drawings show the yoke as being formed of cast metal, it will be understood that it may be formed by forging or in other ways, also that other modifications may be made, all without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A yoke comprising top and bottom members united at their forward ends by a vertical wall, side walls projecting from said vertical wall and forming drawbar at taehing extensions, said side walls being provided with a plurality of key slots, the combined area of two of said slots being substantially equal to the area of one of the other of said slots, substantially as de scribed. In order to further strengthen the yoke and provide greater bearing for the 2. A yoke comprising longitudinal mom hers united at their forward ends by a transverse wall, side walls projecting from said transverse wall and forming draw bar attaching extensions, said side Walls being provided with three key slots, the combined area of the outer two of said slots being substantially equal to the area of the medial one of said slots, substantially as described.

3. In a draft rigging, the combination of a drawbar shank having shoulders, a yoke, the free ends of which are united by webs, said webs having at least three transverse openings, one of said openings normally registering with an opening in the shank and another opening being in line with the space forward of one of the shoulders, keys passed through said openings, the cross sectional area of one of said openings being substantially equal to the combined area of two of the other openings, substantially as described.

l. In a draft rigging, the combination of a draw bar shank havin a pair of outwardly extending forwardly facing shoulders, a yoke adapted to receive the shank and having a pair of inwardly extending rearwardly facing shoulders, the yoke provided with a pair of key slots immediately to the rear of its shoulders and extending at least to a point in transverse alinement with mama? the shoulders on the shank, and a key disposed in each of the slots and having a forward bearing on the yoke shoulder and a rear bearing on the shank shoulder, substantially as described.

5. in a draft rigging, the combination of a draw bar shank having a pair of forwardly facing shoulders, a yoke adapted to receive the shank and havin a pair of rearwardly facing shoulders, the yoke provided with a pair of key slots immediately to the rear of its shoulders and extending at least to a point in transverse alinement with the shoulders on the shank, and a key disposed in each of the slots and having a forward bearing on the yoke shoulder and a rear bearing on the shank shoulder, the yoke and shank also provided with registering key slots arranged in a substantially medial line between the first mentioned slots of the yoke and having an area equal to the combined area of the first named slots and adapted to receive a pair of keys translixing the shank and yoke, substantially as described.

, GEORGE H. FORSYTH. Witnesses:

T, D. BUTLER, ALvAnEz A. BARNES.

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